Commentary by Manuel Silvério
Independent analyst on public policy and regional development
(Former public official with international experience and a longstanding involvement in public policy and sports development)
A recent ceremony in Hong Kong marking the departure of 16 young civil servants for two-year assignments with the United Nations deserves close attention in Macau.
Recommended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), they will serve as Chinese personnel at the UN Headquarters in New York and its offices in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. This is already Hong Kong’s third group under the programme: five officers took part in 2019, 12 in 2023, and now 16.
This is, therefore, no longer a one-off initiative, but a gradually developing mechanism for the continuous cultivation of talent with an international vision and practical experience.
Looking back, I recognise that when my generation was growing up and beginning its professional life, such institutional bridges were not yet in place. For most young people in Macau at the time, working in an international organisation was a distant prospect.
Today, the circumstances are different. The support of the country is opening new doors for Macau’s young people, and the new generation should value and make full use of these opportunities.
In his message to the departing officers, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu urged them to keep the country, Hong Kong, and the world in their hearts.
The same principle can apply to Macau.
We do not need to choose between the country and the world. On the contrary, through the support of the country and the opportunities created by national development, Macau can also reach further into the world.
Macau should also extend its reach
Hong Kong’s experience also demonstrates that participation in international organisations is no longer confined to the traditional diplomatic corps.
The 16 young officials come from a wide range of professional fields, including financial services, statistics, justice, civil engineering, customs, meteorology, intellectual property, land administration, policing, and anti-corruption work.
This reflects the changing nature of contemporary multilateral cooperation.
International organisations need more than diplomats. They also need lawyers, engineers, economists, researchers, health professionals, environmental specialists, and technical experts capable of working in complex international environments.
Macau does not lack such talent.
It also possesses a combination of characteristics that few cities share: a bilingual and multicultural society, a legal system with its own characteristics, a long history of interaction between cultures, and a distinctive relationship with Portuguese-speaking countries.
If these characteristics can be translated into an advantage in human capital, they can help develop professionals capable of serving Macau while also making a greater contribution to the country.
During Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s visit to Geneva in April this year, ways of strengthening Macau’s links with international organisations were also discussed. Macau has already provided young people with opportunities for internships within UN organisations and for international training.
The next step is to consider how this path can acquire greater continuity and scale.
From the Greater Bay Area to the world
As Macau advances its appropriate economic diversification and deepens its participation in the development of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), cultivating talent with an international vision and working experience becomes increasingly important.
National integration and internationalisation are sometimes presented as two different directions. I do not see them that way.
For the GBA to strengthen its international dimension, it needs people who understand both the development and institutional environment of the Chinese mainland and the rules, working methods, and languages of international organisations.
This is precisely where Macau can make use of one of its advantages.
Macau’s young people can become genuine bridge-builders: knowledgeable about the country, rooted in Macau, and, at the same time, capable of reaching out to the world.
I believe progress can be made in three directions.
First, establish a sustained mechanism to prepare and recommend young people from Macau for international organisations. The United Nations Junior Professional Officer Programme can be one avenue, with the support and recommendation of the relevant national authorities, enabling more qualified young people from Macau to participate. Internships, training schemes, exchanges, and other talent programmes offered by international organisations should also be actively explored to create further opportunities.
Second, broaden the pool of talent with potential for international development. The public administration can naturally be an important starting point, but Macau also has talented young people in universities, scientific research, healthcare, finance, technology, environmental fields, and other professions. They should be identified earlier, better prepared in languages and international affairs, and given opportunities to build meaningful international experience.
Third, ensure that international experience genuinely returns to Macau. Spending two years working in an international organisation should not be regarded merely as another entry on an individual CV. It should be seen as a long-term investment by Macau in its future talent.
When these young people return, they will bring back more than professional knowledge. They will also bring international networks, cross-cultural working experience, and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of global governance.
These are valuable resources that Macau will need for its future development.
A new generation that can go further
The presence of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macau is an important institutional advantage in the SAR’s external relations. Working in coordination with the Macao SAR Government and the relevant national authorities, it can continue to help Macau better understand and make use of the opportunities created by the country for its participation in international affairs.
As Macau seeks to align itself more actively and closely with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, advance the high-quality development of the practice of “One Country, Two Systems” with Macau characteristics, and implement the Third Five-Year Plan for the Economic and Social Development of the Macao Special Administrative Region (2026–2030), I believe this is also the right time to consider a strategy of our own for the international development of Macau’s young talent.
This does not mean copying Hong Kong. Macau has its own characteristics and should build its own path from its particular strengths.
For many years, we have described Macau as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, an international city, and a bridge between different cultures. But ultimately, these roles need people to give them substance. They also need a more strategic and targeted approach to talent development if they are to be maintained, consolidated, and further strengthened.
Today’s generation has opportunities that mine did not.
Our responsibility is to open the doors.
Then it will be for our young people to walk through them – with Macau and the country in their hearts, and with the ability to reach out to and engage with the world.
END
Macao SAR, September 23, 2026
Editor’s note: italics and boldface added by the Post
